For many Phillies fans, last summer’s decision to sit out the Cole Hamels trade rumor sweepstakes is a decision that has been haunting for almost an entire calendar year.

Hamels was revived by moving from the American League to the National League and to a club that found a way to resurrect his career. At the same time, a young Phillies staff hit a wall last summer and hasn’t recovered this season.

If the Cubs played in a different division, Theo Epstein might already be instructing his baseball operations department to sell, using the July 31 trade deadline to detonate this underachieving team and reload for the future.

That would mean hoping Cole Hamels gets healthy so he can get traded, marketing Steve Cishek, Pedro Strop and Brandon Kintzler to all the contenders looking for bullpen help and essentially guaranteeing that Joe Maddon won’t be back as manager next season. Plus whatever else Epstein could dream up in texts messages and phone calls as the executive who traded Manny Ramirez and Nomar Garciaparra in blockbuster three- and four-way deadline deals.

Hamels, 35, is currently on the IL with an oblique strain. But the veteran had been electric (2.98 ERA, 3.0 WAR, 3.58 FIP) before hitting the shelf. The lefty is set to be a free agent after the season after Chicago picked up his one-year, $20M option last winter.

For the Phillies, Hamels could be rotation help desperately needed to stay in postseason position.

At the break, Phillies starters own a 4.56 ERA. That’s good for 16th in the sport, but is propped up by the work of Aaron Nola (3.74 ERA). If the Phillies are going to stay afloat, another solid arm is a must.